Wireless communication systems are well known in the art. Generally, such systems comprise communication stations that transmit and receive wireless communication signals between each other. Depending upon the type of system, communication stations typically are one of two types: base stations or wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs), which include mobile units.
The term base station as used herein includes, but is not limited to, a base station, a Node B, a site controller, an access point, or other interfacing device in a wireless environment that provides WTRUs with wireless access to a network with which the base station is associated.
The term WTRU as used herein includes, but is not limited to, a user equipment, a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a pager, or any other type of device capable of operating in a wireless environment. WTRUs include personal communication devices, such as phones, video phones, and Internet ready phones with network connections. In addition, WTRUs also include portable personal computing devices, such as PDAs and notebook computers with wireless modems that have similar network capabilities. WTRUs that are portable or can otherwise change location are referred to as mobile units.
Typically, a network of base stations is provided where each base station is capable of conducting concurrent wireless communications with appropriately configured WTRUs. Some WTRUs are configured to conduct wireless communications directly between each other, i.e., without being relayed through a network via a base station. This is commonly called peer to peer wireless communications. WTRUs can be configured for use in multiple networks with both network and peer to peer communications capabilities.
One type of wireless system, called a wireless local area network (WLAN), can be configured to conduct wireless communications with WTRUs equipped with WLAN modems that are also able to conduct peer to peer communications with similarly equipped WTRUs. In a WLAN, a WTRU is referred to as a station and a base station is referred to as an access point.
There are two prevalent ways to implement wireless communications in WLANs and other networks: an infrastructure mode and an ad hoc mode. In the infrastructure mode, WTRUs conduct wireless communications via a base station that serves as an access point to the network infrastructure. The communications are coordinated and synchronized through the base station. Such a configuration is also called a basic service set (BSS) within WLAN contexts. In contrast to the infrastructure mode, the ad hoc mode does not use the network infrastructure. The ad hoc mode operates with peer to peer communications and is called an “independent BSS”.
A popular wireless local area network environment with one or more WLAN access points, i.e., base stations, is built according to the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. Typical applications for this type of system include hot spots (e.g., airports), home use, and office use. As more and more of these systems are becoming prevalent, there is a need to simplify the operation and maintenance of the systems. Many current systems require significant expertise and understanding from the user. In an office environment, a radio cell planner is required to plan the deployment of the system to avoid interference and capacity issues. In a home system, a user must be knowledgeable enough to avoid interference from other home devices such as Bluetooth devices, microwave ovens, cordless phones, and other neighboring WLAN systems. The nature of interference is time-varying and implies that the sophisticated user or radio cell planner would be required to adapt the system periodically to combat the changing interference. This, of course, is highly unrealistic and therefore there is a need to automatically manage the WLAN system based on the changing environment. The present invention fulfills two main requirements: (1) self-configuration and ease of deployment and (2) increased capacity and contiguous coverage.
To facilitate self-configuration and ease of deployment, it is desirable to provide an access point (AP) which, when powered up, automatically selects the optimum operational parameters, such as transmission power, frequency, energy detect threshold, etc., where minimal or no configuration data is required from the installer. In addition, it would be desirable for the AP to periodically monitor its environment and adjust the various parameters to optimize aggregate throughput and to provide contiguous and predictable coverage.